Comedian and actor Ed Helms drew laughter with a slew of jokes as he delivered a commencement address at the University of Virginia Friday, but also took time to criticize Rolling Stone for the damage done to the school by its false UVA rape story.
Best known for his roles on The Office and in the Hangover movies, the 41-year-old was invited to address UVA’s 2015 graduating class and spoke in-depth about the dangers of social and economic labels.
After commending the Thomas Jefferson-founded university for its contributions to society through its many noted alumni, Helms unloaded on Rolling Stone for reporting the false story of a brutal gang rape at the hands of a fraternity on UVA’s campus in 2014.
The story, “A Rape on Campus,” written by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, described the graphic sexual assault of student who was only identified as “Jackie” at a fraternity party on the school’s campus.
After other media outlets, including Breitbart News, helped to inform the public of the holes in the story, Rolling Stone retracted and apologized, but Helms hasn’t forgotten and made that very clear on Friday.
After talking about his personal experiences with being “defined by outsiders,” Helms told a large group of students before the university’s famed Rotunda:
I know the UVA community has some experience with being defined by outsiders. It has been said that a rolling stone gathers no moss. I would add that sometimes a rolling stone also gathers no verifiable facts or even the tiniest morsels of journalistic integrity.
[…]
